A little Southie at the JCC

Friday

Local author Phyllis Karas will read from her book "The Women of Southie" as part of the annual Jewish Book Month Speaker Series

First she wrote about the Irish mob and now Phyllis Karas has written about those who stood behind, beside and in the shadow of those powerful men -- their wives.

In her new book, “The Women of Southie: Finding Resilience During Whitey Bulger’s Infamous Reign,” Karas shares the story of six women who called South Boston home during some of the most turbulent times in Boston history. The town was under the rule of Irish mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger, busing was at the forefront and violence was the norm.

“They are six different voices, they are all very different” Karas said, adding they are also all “proud of the fact they’re from Southie.”

And the queen, according to Karas, is Anna.

Karas met Anna Weeks when she was writing a book about her husband, Kevin, “Brutal: The Untold Story of My Life Inside Whitey Bulger’s Irish Mob.”

“It wasn’t a book he wanted to write," Karas said. “And he especially didn’t want to write it with me.

Kevin Weeks faced a lengthy federal prison sentence tied to his two decades spent as Bulger’s chief lieutenant so he cooperated with authorities testifying against a number of mobsters, including Bulger. As part of his sentence, lawyers came up with the idea that Weeks write a memoir and any proceeds would go to the families of his victims.

Karas became his storyteller.

Anna was Weeks’ girlfriend at the time and Karas said she would never have been able to write the book without her. Anna was often the go-between, between Karas and Kevin Weeks, who fought regularly. She would sooth hurt feelings and smooth the way for the work to get done, “and she fascinated me,” said Karas.

Tall and willowy with a mass of blonde hair, Anna Weeks had been married for 27 years to a man who spent most of that time in and out of jail and abusing his wife. Karas describes Anna as highly intelligent, a devoted middle school teacher and devoutly religious, but she was an enabler who thought she could fix her abusive husband, “and she couldn’t.”

“She dealt with two separate lives for 27 years,” Karas said.

Eventually, she divorced her husband and she did so in a most taboo way for a good Southie girl, while he was in prison, Karas said.

Already friends with Kevin, Karas said oddly enough, Anna found the stability and love she craved with the former mob enforcer. The pair married, have three young children and while Anna still teaches, Kevin has become a stay-at-home dad.

As fascinating as Anna Weeks is, Karas said she realized quickly that her friend was not the only one with a tale to tell. Karas said as she worked with Kevin on his book, she and Anna would often meet and go for long walks, where Anna talked about life growing up in South Boston.

It was her agent that pointed out, during dinner one night with the Weeks’, that Anna was the one with a story to tell. Five years later, Karas has told her story and then some.

Through Anna, Karas also met Karen Weeks Rakes, Kevin’s sister, Tori Donlan, Elaine McGuire Donlan, Marie Falcione Hardy and Nancy Young. Each woman also grew up in Southie, married and raised children there “with greater strength and conviction as they faced the heartaches and tragedies of murder, death of loved ones, suicide, addiction, abuse and PTSD,” said Karas.

Each had a story to tell. According to Karas, one suffered horrendous abuse at the hands of her father, another suffered from and eventually kicked a heroin addiction, one had a father who committed suicide in her bedroom, a sister who was murdered and more than one brother addicted to drugs.

“But this woman has a terrific job, she’s strong and pretty and goes about her business with a smile and a conviction that this is just the life that God gave her,” Karas said.

Karas said there are warm and funny stories as well, and that despite their circumstances each women professed to love their childhood and remained loyal to Southie.

“They made it very clear that Southie was not the problem,” Karas said.

Their hardships were their own faults, their own bad choices, she added.

Karas admits she is a little nervous about how the book and the women will be received at the JCC. A recent reading in Southie was a bit of a homecoming for the women. Karas said there was no question and answer period because those who came for the reading already knew the stories. She hopes the women are just as at ease and comfortable in Marblehead.

“I loved working with them,” Karas said. “They are survivors … they are all such strong women.”